


when the moon comes out

by soleil_slytherin



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst, Bisexual Remus Lupin, Black Family Drama (Harry Potter), Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Gay Sirius Black, Hogwarts Era, M/M, Marauders, Marauders Era (Harry Potter), Mutual Pining, POV Remus Lupin, Pining, Remus Lupin & Lily Evans Potter Friendship, Sirius Black & James Potter Friendship, Slow Burn, Teen Years, Teenagers, Werewolf Remus Lupin
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-04
Updated: 2020-10-09
Packaged: 2021-03-06 14:12:34
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,938
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26290177
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/soleil_slytherin/pseuds/soleil_slytherin
Summary: Remus Lupin attends Hogwarts, falls in love with his best friend, grapples with being a werewolf, and watches as the wizarding world descends into chaos.
Relationships: James Potter/Lily Evans Potter, Sirius Black/Remus Lupin
Comments: 8
Kudos: 9





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> ohhhh soleil finally writes a wolfstar fic. i think i'll have updates for this every week or so cause i've already got quite a bit written. any feedback/comments are much appreciated!

first year, 1971

Remus fiddled with his new wand as he made his way through the crowd at King’s Cross Station. 

When they made it to the train, his father looked down at him, wrinkles lining his face, looking maybe more nervous than Remus. He put his hands on Remus’ shoulders and said, “Be safe, son.”

His mother nodded, wiping a tear away from her cheek. “Study hard and write us every week,” she added, “and be careful.”

Remus hadn’t even expected to be going to Hogwarts. He could feel his heart pounding under his new robes. He waved goodbye to his parents as he made his way to the train, catching sight of them once more before he was swept inside. They were sharing a worried glance. Remus looked down at the floor and hoped he could make them proud. 

He passed compartment after compartment. One filled with older teenagers laughing together, another with a couple of kids wearing hufflepuff crests, and one with a gaggle of girls embracing. 

He hovered by a cabin with two dark-haired boys who seemed to be first-years like him, but they looked like great friends already. 

Remus finally stopped by a cabin with a mousey-looking boy sitting alone. He slid the door open. “Can I sit here?” he gestured to the seat across from the boy. 

He nodded quickly, and Remus sat down. 

After a beat of silence, Remus stuck his hand out. “I’m Remus. Remus Lupin. First year.”

The other boy took it with visible relief. “Peter Pettigrew. I’m awfully nervous, to tell you the truth, I quite hope I’ll be able to make some friends.”

“Ah, same for me,” Remus relaxed. “Doesn’t it seem like everyone already knows each other already?”

“Exactly!” Peter said, smiling slightly. “I almost thought I would have to sit in this compartment all alone.” 

“Not anymore,” Remus smiled back at him. 

They slipped into easy conversation for the rest of the journey, and were almost startled when the train puttered to a stop. They gathered up their luggage—Remus, being tall for his age, helping Peter get his down—and walked out of the train together. Remus hoped desperately that he and Peter would be in the same house. 

They were herded to boats, and he and Peter were joined by a pretty red-headed girl and a greasy-haired, stern looking boy. 

The red-headed girl smiled at him and he smiled back. “Are you both excited? Me and Severus have been on the edge of our seats the whole train ride.”

The boy next to her—Severus—didn’t look like he was capable of feeling any emotions, let alone excitement, but a flicker of a smile crossed his face when he looked at her, and Remus thought he might not be so bad when he smiled. 

“Yes,” Remus said, “very. Also nervous, of course. My father is a wizard so I’ve heard stories, but who knows if that compares to the real thing.”

Severus nodded. Lily looked over at him and answered, “Sev has wizard parents too! I suppose you two could be great friends,” maybe I could if he bothered to look at me, Remus thought, “both my parents are muggles so I really don’t have any expectations-”

She was cut off by a cry of, “Merlin’s pants!”

When Remus looked up, he saw one of the dark-haired boys he had passed in the compartments. Past him, out of the fog, had appeared the most beautiful castle he’d ever seen. It towered over them, glowing from the insides with buttery light, towers wreathed in fog. 

Even Severus looked impressed. There was a silence until the boats came to shore and a tall lady ushered them into the castle. 

The great hall was the most beautiful thing Remus had ever seen. The ceiling was dusty blue with stars glimmering among grey clouds. The tables were long and oak and stuffed with students wearing house crests. 

A single, worn hat sat on a stool at the end of the room. The first years watched with awe as it sang about the houses, and then the teacher beckoned up the students. 

One of the first students to be sorted was “Black, Sirius,” the boy who had shouted on the boats. He took his place at the Gryffindor table proudly, even though Remus could have sworn the Blacks were a pureblood Slytherin family. 

The redhead he had met on the boats, Lily, was also sorted into Gryffindor. She smiled almost apologetically at Severus as she took her seat, and he grimaced. 

Before Remus could reply, he was being called up. 

He took his seat on the stool and placed the hat on his head, painfully aware of the whole school’s eyes on him. 

Interesting, came a voice, and Remus jumped a little, even though he had told himself to expect it. You’ve got intelligence, certainly, but it comes more from your pride than anything…

I don’t want to be in Slytherin, if that’s what you’re suggesting, Remus replied quickly.

Why not? 

Slytherins are outcasts. I want friends. 

The hat made a hat version of an approving hum. You are very brave. And I can see you thriving in a particular house...

Remus stiffened. 

I think you’d best be in… “GRYFFINDOR!”

A cheer erupted from the table in front of him and he shakily took a seat at the table. 

All the people after him but three blurred into each other. 

“Pettigrew, Peter!” spent minutes sitting with the hat on his head, face flushing more and more. Peter was his first and only friend at Hogwarts, and Remus prayed they would be put in the same house. After what seemed like an eternity, the hat shouted, “GRYFFINDOR!” and Peter took a seat beside Remus, slumping down with his face in his hands. Remus gave him what he hoped was an encouraging pat on the back. 

After Peter was the other dark-haired boy Remus had first seen on the train, “Potter, James!” The hat declared him a Gryffinor seconds after touching his head and he crowed on the way to his seat. 

Then came Severus’ turn. The Slytherin table welcomed him with cheers. James Potter, who now sat across from him, booed under his breath before an older student elbowed him. 

The headmaster stood up. Every student seemed to be paying strict attention to whatever nonsense was coming out of his mouth, but Remus couldn’t help but think back to when Dumbledore visited him. He had been informed in a letter that he was supposed to meet Dumbledore in his office tonight to talk about his “accommodations.”

Dumbledore sat down and the empty serving plates in front of them filled with food. Remus hadn’t even relieved how hungry he was until everyone around him was helping themselves to lamb, heaping piles of mashed potatoes, gravy, steak, and, oddly, Remus noted, peppermint humbugs. He wouldn’t have been surprised if Dumbeldore insisted upon them. The man was a bit mad.

He took some food and glanced around him. It seemed like he, Peter, James Potter, and Sirius Black were the only first year boys at their table. 

James Potter, across the table, spoke first. “Well, I suppose we’re all going to be living together for the next seven years, so better get chummy,” he popped a peppermint humbug in his mouth and made a face. “I’m James Potter.”

“Sirius.” Remus noted that he left out his last name, and told himself to look up the Black family in the library soon. 

“Peter. Peter Pettigrew.” Peter grinned at the other boys.

“Remus Lupin.” Remus gave a tentative smile. “Nice to meet you all.”

“Isn’t it awesome to finally be here?” Peter looked around, “My mum’s been telling me about Hogwarts since I was a kid.”

Remus nodded, although his heart was pounding in his chest. He hoped that Dumbledore had a solution to his problem. He didn’t think he could stand if this was all taken away, if they kicked him out for good when he transformed. What if they gave up on him? Said, sorry, we can’t help you and snatched the magic right out from under him?

“Just glad I’m not in Slytherin, the sorry lot.” Sirius nodded over at the more sober-looking Slytherins. 

“They can’t be that bad, can they?” Remus asked, and Sirius and James looked at him like he’d sprouted a third head. “I mean- we met a boy on the boat-”

“Are you talking about the greasy-haired one- Snapdragon or Snivellus or whatever his name was? He actually wanted to be in Slytherin,” Sirius shook his head.

“Poor sap, I think I’d off myself,” Jame shoveled mashed potatoes into his mouth like he hadn’t eaten for days.

“Hey!” Remus looked around to see Lily scowling at James and Sirius. “That’s not very nice. Just because they’ve got some bad wizards doesn’t mean every single one is bad.”

“Hey-” James started.

“I don’t want to hear anything from you.” And with that Lily spun around and continued talking to a first year girl with pigtails. 

James turned around, stunned. It was clear he wasn’t used to getting knocked down a peg. “Was that the girl we met on the train? What’s her name again?”

“Lily Evans,” Remus supplied. 

“I think I’m in love,” James fake swooned. 

“Good luck, mate,” Sirius chuckled. “I think her and Snivellus are a done deal.”

“She could do so much better,” James sighed. 

“Than you?” Remus raised an eyebrow, “I agree.”

“Ahh, smarty over here has a sense of humor,” James said, incredulous. “Who knew?”

With his new friends, Remus could almost forget about his meeting with Dumbledore. But once the feast was over and they were all unpacking in their dorms, Remus realized he would have to find an excuse to sneak away. 

He took the bottom bunk closest to the door, with Sirius taking the other bottom bunk, Peter the bunk over his, and James the bunk over Sirius’. When the lights were turned out, Remus laid awake and counted to sixty over and over in his head until ten minutes had passed. Then he slipped out of his bed and through the door to the common room. 

He sighed as he sat down in one of the plush chairs in front of the fire and pulled his shoes on. He might be going in pajamas, but barefoot would just be rude. 

“Going somewhere without us?” Remus spun around to find James and Sirius standing at the door. 

“I-” Remus stuttered.

“No need to explain,” Sirius assured him. 

“We’re just hurt you didn’t invite us along.” James placed a hand over his heart. “Where are you planning on going? We were going to do a little exploring ourselves, but not so early.”

“Dumbledore’s office.” Remus said. There was little point in lying about that. “I have an appointment, though. For-” his mind raced, “scheduling questions.”

James and Sirius looked suspicious but, to their credit, didn’t question him. “You know where you’re going?” Sirius asked. 

Remus’ heart dropped. “Shoot, no, I should have thought about that.”

“No maps of Hogwarts lying around?” James asked. “We really should change that. But we can help you find it. We’re both expert explorers.”

Remus hesitated. “Okay, fine.”

James punched the air. “Yes! Our first adventure! Minus Peter, but he looked so peaceful, we didn’t want to wake him.”

“Let’s go,” Remus gestured and they crawled out of the dormitory into the hallways. 

They braved moving stairs, dodged ghosts, and ducked into rooms where they were certainly not supposed to be. 

“Have… any idea… what his office… looks like?” Sirius panted after they finished running from Peeves. 

Remus took a great, gasping breath. “I think it’s a…” he looked up to find a massive stone “...gargoyle.”

He peered behind the ugly statue to see a staircase leading up. 

“Well, good luck up there,” James grinned. “Try not to get lost on your way back.”

“Thanks.” Remus said sarcastically, waving goodbye. When they turned the corner, he looked back at the gargoyle. He quickly realized that it was impossible to squeeze past, and there must be some  
sort of way to make the gargoyle move. 

“Open sesame,” he tried first, but the gargoyle stood stoically. “Dumbledore.” No movement. “Please may I get past? I have an appointment…” Nothing. He kicked the stupid gargoyles stupid ugly feet. 

“Move. Gryffindor. Transfiguration. Wizard. Hogwarts. Peppermint humbug.” he took a breath to continue, but before he could speak again the gargoyle moved aside. 

“Peppermint humbug?” he asked. “That’s the password?” He made his way up the stairs nonetheless. “Maybe he is just as crazy as the people say.” There was an oak door at the top, which he cautiously pushed aside to reveal Dumbledore’s office. 

It was filled with many little tidbits and whizzing instruments, and a majestic phoenix sat atop a perch right next to Dumbledore himself. 

“I see you arrived intact.” Dumbledore smiled, looking at Remus over half-moon glasses. 

“Yes, Sir.” Remus nodded. 

Dumbledore’s face turned more serious. “Now, let's get straight to business. We’re here because you are a werewolf-” Remus flinched. His father always avoided saying the word, calling it his problem, and Remus had taken to calling it that too. “and there is a full moon in less than a week. To make sure that you don’t hurt any student, or yourself,” but Remus already hurt himself. This was clear when he took off his robes, where deep claw scratches marred his arms and stomach. “we have devised a plan.” 

There was a glimmer in Dumbledore’s eyes, like he was proud of his own cleverness. “There is a willow tree in the grounds, one that has a certain way of repelling students.” Remus didn’t ask. 

“Through the roots of that tree, there is a path to an abandoned house in Hogsmeade, one where you can transform alone and without fear of hurting anyone. Tomorrow I can bring you there to demonstrate.”

“Thank you, Sir,” 

“I want to make it clear that you and everyone here will be safe. You will not be able to hurt another student. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Sir.” Remus nodded. He felt tears welling up in his eyes and desperately tried to blink them away. He was always so scared of hurting people. Of course he couldn’t control himself while transformed, but it was him. He wouldn’t be able to forgive himself if something happened to a student because of him. 

“It’s ok, Remus,” Dumbledore’s eyes softened. “Now hurry to bed. McGonagall will fetch you tomorrow. Better sleep up, the first day is always the hardest.” He winked. 


	2. Chapter 2

Remus was walking away from Herbology class with James, Sirius, and Peter when McGonagall called out, “Lupin!”

“Yes, Ma’am?” He asked.

“Dumbledore would like to see you,” she pointed to a trail that led farther into the grounds. “He’s down that way.”

Remus shot his friends an apologetic smile. James winked, Sirius wiggled his eyebrows, and Peter looked a little starstruck at the mention of the headmaster. 

He made his way to Dumbledore, who was standing next to a weeping willow tree. 

“Hello, Remus,” Dumbledore gestured to the tree behind him. “May I introduce you to the Whomping Willow?”  
“The… what?” Remus laughed nervously. 

Dumbledore gestured for him to watch as he picked up a rock and tossed it into the tree branches. Remus yelped and jumped back as the tree sprung to life, whirling around and pushing the rock back out. 

“What- how-” he gasped. “How am I supposed to get through that?” quickly he added, “I mean no disrespect, Sir.”

Dumbledore chuckled, then drew his wand, pointing it at a nearby stick. The stick shuddered and then rose into the air, dodging the branches as it headed for the tree’s trunk. It hit a knot near the tree’s base and the tree went suddenly still. 

Dumbledore pressed a small, smooth rock into his hand. “Keep this with you and don’t lose it. It’s enchanted to press the knot.”

Dumbledore moved his wand, the stick dropped, and the tree whipped into a frenzy again. He nodded at Remus, who squinted at the knot and threw the rock. 

It whizzed past the branches and, defying gravity, pressed the button down. 

Dumbledore ducked under the branches and Remus followed. As soon as they made it to the trunk, the stone dropped. 

“Quickly,” Dumbledore slipped into a gap in the roots and Remus followed. The tunnel was long and cramped, and they were both crawling on their hands and knees. Remus guessed his robes would be worn to a mess after this. It almost felt like an eternity before the tunnel edged upwards and they emerged inside a dimly lit room. 

Inside were two deep red armchairs flanking a small table, with a larger table in front of them. On the table laid a book with a brown cover and golden lettering. It was now clear why the room had  
such little light—the windows were boarded up. In a corner was a small wooden chair. In some places there was a layer of dust, and a cobweb stretched from one of the armchair’s legs to the floor. It was very clear that this was an old house someone had tried to make presentable quickly. Not like Remus would notice how presentable he was when he transformed. 

Dumbledore opened his arms, gesturing to the room. “Here it is. The old Rosier house. Now, I can trust you to manage and keep track of the full moons on your own?”  
Remus nodded and made a mental note to buy a calendar. 

☆☆☆

Remus looked at his calendar anxiously. It was september fifth, his first full moon at Hogwarts. 

James and Sirius were playing a rather loud game of exploding snaps, which wasn’t helping his already frayed nerves. Peter was huddled over the old desk, revising a transfiguration essay that McGonagall had graded badly. 

Remus looked down at the essay in his hands. One on the Ministry of Magic classifications for history of magic. Under werewolf was a classification of XXXXX, the most dangerous, and labeled being-beast. 

Beast. Was that what he was? 

He glanced out the window. The sun was low in the sky, and he was certainly feeling the effects. He was pale and weak, and it hadn’t gone unnoticed by his dormmates. He wanted to explain, but if anyone found out they would probably write home and demand him out of the school. Even the seemingly kind ones would turn on you. Remus knew that well enough. 

As a kid, he had moved from town to town, their parents packing up when the neighbors started to guess at what was wrong with him. He knew that being a werewolf was like having a bad sort of virus. Parents didn’t want their kids living around someone who became a murderous monster once every month or so. 

The sky was beginning to show streaks of color, so Remus decided it was time to go. He probably shouldn’t have waited this long anyways, but he dreaded the questions. 

He tried to slip out unnoticed, but Sirius called after him. “Going on another midnight escapade?”

Remus bit his lip and closed the door behind him. “I wasn’t entirely honest with you last night. I was still going to see Dumbledore, but it wasn’t for anything related to school. I have this… medical condition, so I need to go up to Madam Pomfrey’s occasionally.”

He flushed and hoped they couldn’t see all the holes in his story. The intentional vagueness around his ‘condition,’ the timing…

“Oh,” Sirius said, taken a little off guard, “Feel better, I suppose?” He clearly wasn’t used to being comforting. Remus gave him a weak smile before slipping out the door. 

Thankfully he was beginning to know his way around the castle after a couple of days of classes. He found the door with little difficulty, and thankfully, no encounter with Peeves. He fumbled a little as he stuck the key Dumbledore had given him into the lock and turned it. 

And then he was outside. 

It was a cool night, and Remus shivered a little as he walked across the grounds, towards the tree. He felt inside his pocket for the enchanted rock Dumbledore had given him and took it out as he approached the tree. 

The rock held the tree still just long enough for him to shimmy into the tunnel. The crawl through felt even longer this time, and Remus was already beginning to ache, his body itching to transform. He had to drag himself out at the end, his teeth sharpening, and he curled up on the floor as he transformed. 

Later, he would come to on the cold floor of the old mansion. His memories would come back, the pain, the frantic urge to hurt, crawling through the damp tunnel and coming out on the other end only to get slammed into the trunk over and over again until he could crawl back to the house and howl. 

Remus rolled over as thin beams of early-morning sunlight streamed through the cracks in the boards on the window. He groaned. It hurt everywhere. His arms and back were peppered with pinkish bruises from the impact of the tree. 

It was probably around 5 in the morning. All he wanted to do was lay on the ground until nighttime, but he dragged himself up and crawled out the tunnel, wincing as his back brushed against the dirt and his elbows dug into the ground. By the time he had crawled out, his fingernails were crusted with dirt. 

He emerged on the other side and pressed down the button, running away from the tree with his weak legs. He ran all the way to the door, afraid if he stopped running he wouldn’t be able to start moving again. He unlocked the door and made his way through the castle. It was eerily quiet, as the students wouldn’t be heading down for breakfast for an hour or so. 

He stumbled through the common room and into the dormitory, passing out as soon as he crawled into bed. 

☆☆☆

Dead. Remus felt dead when he woke up. Disoriented, he sat upwards in bed too fast and banged his head on the bed above him. “Ouch!” He cried, cradling his head. His bruises were still throbbing, but no longer in an all consuming way, just background noise. 

Next came the hunger. His stomach lurched and he threw back the curtains, running blindly towards the bathroom and slamming the door behind him. He retched, but his stomach was already emptied, so nothing came out. 

Sighing, he blinked his tired eyes until the world came into focus and braced himself as he opened the door to the dormitory. 

All three of his dormmates were looking at him with wide eyes. 

Remus waved them off. “I’m okay, used to this.” His mouth was dry and the words came out a little off. “What time is it?”

“5 at night,” Peter was the one to answer in a small voice. 

“D’you think you’ll be up for dinner?” Sirius asked. James elbowed him in the side, but Remus nodded gratefully. 

“Course, I’m starved.”

They all headed downstairs, talking about anything but Remus’ condition. He was grateful they weren’t fussing over him. His mother always got so worried after a transformation. It was nice in thought, but a little smothering.

And maybe he chose the rarest meats and dinner and ate them a little too fast, but who would notice?

☆☆☆

Fall passed by quickly, and Remus, despite his worries, had settled into Hogwarts quite nicely by the time December had come around. Three transformations had passed by in the Shrieking Shack, and he was beginning to get used to the new routine. James and Sirius were already dragging him and Peter all sorts of places in the castle after nighttime, and even though James could be a little arrogant, Sirius a bit haughty, and Peter a bit afraid, Remus was glad to have friends. 

And somehow he had managed to keep his problem secret. He wasn’t that worried about Peter finding out, but James and Sirius were smarter than they looked. They earned almost as many points for Gryffindor answering questions correctly than they lost for being troublemakers. And although they were his friends, they both came from wealthy pureblood families, and those types of families did not have a particularly welcoming reputation. 

It was softly snowing as Remus walked across the grounds to the weeping willow. His mouth was aching with too-large canines, his nails longer and sharper than usual. Over the past few months he'd learned to time his visits to the shack just right—he doesn’t like spending more time in that creepy old house than he has to. 

He was approaching the tree, taking the enchanted stone from his pocket, when he heard a shout from behind him.

“Remus!” He spun around to see James, Sirius, and Peter running after him. 

He swore under his breath and contemplated leaving right then, but they might try and follow him, and he’d have to explain later anyways. 

“What?” he said, voice muffled by the oversized teeth. It’s probably not what he should say, but nothing else comes to mind. 

“What are you doing?” James squinted at him, shielding his face from the snow with his hand. 

What does Remus say to that? Nothing much, just heading to a run-down shack so I can transform into my beast form? 

They stepped forward, and Remus put his hands out in front of him. He didn’t want to hurt them. So he told them, “I don’t want to hurt you!” His voice barely carried over the harsh wind. 

“Why would you hurt us?” Peter asked. 

Peter didn’t know, but James and Sirius certainly did. His head was pounding. They’re goading him. Trying to make him confess. He snapped. “Because I’m a monster. If you all don’t let me go, I’m going to transform in front of you.”

They looked taken aback, even James and Sirius, at the confession. It’s practically a confession, isn’t it?

Then he chucked the rock at the tree and slipped through the branches, crawled through the tunnel, and transformed as soon as he came up on the other side. 

This transformation seemed more painful than the others, maybe because Remus was hurting, and the wolf knows it too. 

He woke up, panting, blood under his fingernails. When he gingerly touched his face, he felt a gash running from his cheekbone to his jawline. He swore and desperately tried not to think as he went through the tunnel, across the grounds, and into his dormitory. 

He woke up to whispers. This is it. Remus thought, they’re trying to figure out how to tell me they’re writing home, that I’m going to need to pack soon. 

Better rip off the bandaid, he thought, and ripped the curtain aside. The conversation immediately ceased. James was sitting on his bed, Sirius lounging on top of the desk, with Peter cross legged on the floor. They look at him like they’ve just seen a ghost. 

“Get it over with,” Remus sighed. “I’ll pack.”

There is a silence, and then Sirius starts to laugh, “Remus, mate, you don’t think we hadn’t puzzled it out yet? Well, not Peter, he was a bit clueless, but you were kind of rubbish at hiding it.”

“Yeah, I figured it out the second full moon,” James shrugged. “Sirius came to me after the third and we placed bets on when you would tell us.” he grinned as he held out three shining galleons. 

“What?” Remus said, rubbing his head. “You’re not kicking me out?”

“Of course not!” James said, affronted. “We’ve been talking all day about what we could do to help you, you’re our friend!” Peter nodded eagerly. 

Remus deflated, slumping down onto the floor in front of his bed. “So I’m not leaving hogwarts?”

Sirius shook his head, flipping over a book he had opened in his lap. “We found this.” 

In big letters, the heading read, Helping a Werewolf with Their Transformation. “Now there isn’t a cure, as you probably know already- but here-” Sirius jabbed at the second paragraph, “it says that, when accompanied by other animals, a werewolf can become less violent.”

“So you’re going to get me a dog or something?” Remus said, raising an eyebrow.

“We did actually consider that-” James started,

Sirius interrupted, “But then we came up with something even better.” He picked up the other book on the desk, simply titled Animagi. 

“Isn’t that a wizard who can transform into an ani…” Remus trailed off.

“Exactly.” James smirked. 

“But thats one of the most complicated spells a wizard can perform?” 

James shrugged. “Yeah, there’s only ten registered animagi.” 

“There’s no way you guys think you can-” 

“It can’t be that hard.” James said, grinning wickedly. “Plus, can’t have you having all the fun to yourself.”

Remus took a shaky breath. Five minutes ago, he had accepted that he was leaving hogwarts. Now, James, Sirius, and Peter were all offering to attempt one of the more difficult, dangerous spells just so he wouldn’t be alone. 

He sniffled. A single tear rolled down his face, and he flushed. Before he could apologize, James walked over and swept him up in a hug. Sirius leapt off his desk and did the same, Peter scurrying to follow.

Remus stood there, surrounded by his best friends, and thought maybe everything would be all right after all.


End file.
